In business applications, such as enterprise resource planning or supply chain management, a business object represents a container for storing complex business data. In particular, a business object represents a type of a uniquely identifiable business entity, or object instance, described by a structural model. Processes operate on business objects. Business objects can provide a specific view on some well-defined business content. Properly implemented, business objects are free of redundancies.
Business applications can be hosted at application servers. The applications are locally distributed and replicated to achieve scalability, fast local access, and efficient processing for the clients. Business objects can be operated on using either read access or write access. Read access is defined as reading data from a business object, while write access is defined as creating, updating, or deleting the business object. The creation of a business object includes generating a business object instance (e.g., from a master data business object) that did not exist before the current instantiation. The content in the newly created business object can be equal or similar to an existing business object instance, and includes at least a unique identifier that differs from that of all other business object instances. The deletion of a business object instance includes permanently removing the complete content of the business object instance from the system. The updating of a business object includes adding elements to a business object and deleting or modifying elements within the business object.